A good bet is that Hillary Clinton will enter the 2016 presidential race, and immediately become the prohibitive favorite.

But think about another scenario for a moment. As 2014 unfolds, Mrs. Clinton gives no signal as to whether she’s running for president. Months go by and Mrs. Clinton continues to give paid speeches, write and promote her new book, and assist her husband and daughter with the Clinton Foundation’s charitable work. Then, with 2015 fast approaching, she decides for whatever reason she won’t seek the Democratic nomination. Stranger things have happened in politics.That would leave the party in quite a hole.

If Mrs. Clinton opts to sit it out, and doesn’t say so until late this year, she’ll have left some other prospective Democratic candidates at a competitive disadvantage, some party operatives fear. So far ahead in the polls is Mrs. Clinton at the moment that it’s difficult for other Democrats to do the basic preparatory work necessary to mount a serious campaign for the presidency.

Donors aren’t apt to write checks to a Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley or a former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer so long as a Clinton candidacy is on the horizon, one Democratic campaign aide says. And without money, it’s tough for second-tier hopefuls to build the campaign machinery needed to be successful in the general election.

“The longer Hillary Clinton takes to make a decision, the more frozen the donor and activist class becomes,” the aide said. “It’s virtually impossible for any Democrat not named Hillary Clinton to build the base of support they need to mount a credible campaign for president right now.”

Vice President Joe Biden has a different set of challenges. Americans know who he is, so he doesn’t face the same obstacles as say Mr. O’Malley to build name recognition. Mr. Biden said last week he won’t make a decision on running until the summer of ’15. That extended timetable suggests he’ll go a long time before setting up political action committees and outreach efforts that are especially important for candidates like Mr. Biden who are lagging in the polls.

Mrs. Clinton has said she’ll make a decision this year on whether to run.

Her interests are well served by waiting. The moment she declares her candidacy, it’s open season on her from conservatives and Republican campaign opposition research specialists. She already has universal name recognition and a stable of outside groups raising money and recruiting grassroots activists in the expectation she’ll run.

So, in that sense, there’s no hurry for her to announce her decision.

Unless she decides she owes it to the party to make sure Democrats aren’t left flat-footed in the event she stays out.

One former Clinton campaign aide hopes that if Mrs. Clinton truly isn’t going to run, she says so quickly.

“If she’s not going to run, then it seems to me she ought to make that decision earlier – as soon as possible – so that other people can get in and the party isn’t standing without viable candidates,” he said.

About Washington Wire

Washington Wire is one of the oldest standing features in American journalism. Since the Wire launched on Sept. 20, 1940, the Journal has offered readers an informal look at the capital. Now online, the Wire provides a succession of glimpses at what’s happening behind hot stories and warnings of what to watch for in the days ahead. The Wire is led by Reid J. Epstein, with contributions from the rest of the bureau. Washington Wire now also includes Think Tank, our home for outside analysis from policy and political thinkers.